I currently have around $2,500 in a traditional IRA, which was deductible at the time I contributed.

I have since gotten married and now I will not qualify for a deduction under the traditional IRA (too much income), so I will contribute to a Roth IRA in 1998.

My question is this:I believe my tax rate will be well above 28% when I am eligible to withdraw funds penalty free from my IRA in 35 years. The tax rate may be as high as 60% or more.

That makes me lean toward converting to a Roth, paying my 28% and not worrying about the tax rate at the later point. However, given the government's tendency to change the law on retirement accounts, I don't want to pay tax now and pay tax later when the government decides in 20 years it needs new income and there are a lot of IRAs with a lot of $'s in them.

Simply put, is a bird in the hand (money I haven't paid tax on) worth two in the bush (pay that tax and hope I won't have to pay tax again later)?

I don't want to sound like an avid X-Files fan, but my father took a big hit when he withdrew funds from his 401k to put me through college. When he contributed to the 401k the law stated that money used to pay for education would not be penalized.